best ways to ship stuff to the island

[igotyourback]

hello,
i am a ist semester student starting this may. I;m trying to figure out the best way to ship stuff down to the school. I heard something about going through ups to miami and then some tropical shipping to the island. then i heard that it is really hard to pick up the package, plus their may be some duty fees. it getting a bit confusing and i would love to know the quickest cheapest way to get this stuff down there.
scott

[VanessaWI]

really depends on where you're coming from. If you're from a major city, like Chicago, NY, or LA-Amerijet is very reasonable. I used them to ship my stuff back home, but didn't ship a lot of stuff down there. When my family sent stuff, the best/cheapest/most reliable way was through USPS. You will have to open any package from any company in front of customs agent and pay some tax, depending on what the resale value of the stuff you shipped is. Be certain to check where they ship to because if you ship via USPS, it'll go to Portsmouth, Tropical shipping will go to Roseau, and Amerijet will go to Marigot airport. You also hve to take into account the cost of paying someone to drive you to and from the airport to get the package-may run 80-160ec, depending on how generous the driver is.

[FoxTrot]

I think recently students no longer have to go to Portsmouth to pick up packages since they expanded the mailroom on campus and now have a customs officer working on the campus to handle the customs charges. That is pretty convenient. really depends on where you're coming from. If you're from a major city, like Chicago, NY, or LA-Amerijet is very reasonable. I used them to ship my stuff back home, but didn't ship a lot of stuff down there. When my family sent stuff, the best/cheapest/most reliable way was through USPS. You will have to open any package from any company in front of customs agent and pay some tax, depending on what the resale value of the stuff you shipped is. Be certain to check where they ship to because if you ship via USPS, it'll go to Portsmouth, Tropical shipping will go to Roseau, and Amerijet will go to Marigot airport. You also hve to take into account the cost of paying someone to drive you to and from the airport to get the package-may run 80-160ec, depending on how generous the driver is.

[Dru]

My daughter and I have had terrific luck mailing through the US Postal Service. The box arrives directly into the Portsmouth Post Office. Vanessa spends $1 EC (or about $1 USD divided by $2.65) They open the box infront of her and then she pays a small tax (usually $10-20 EC or about $8 USD) We have never had a lost piece, although there have been several boxes that took a little longer to arrive. It is necessary to print 5 labels on each box (ie one for each side and one for the top. The address is:

YOUR NAME
c/o Ross University School of Medicine
Box 266
Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica
West Indies

There are 3 levels of delivery, and I have been using the middle one, which is 6-10 business days for about $75 for a 25 pound box. There is a much cheaper level, but it takes a long time, and the premium rate is overnight. Although the address contains Roseau, it is never necessary to pick up the stuff in Roseau....they always deliver directly to Portsmouth.

[domdom]

You can fill a drum with an unlimited weight capacity and have it sent to dominica in 3-4 weeks. Use laparkan.com if you live in ny/nj/miami. I believe i paid 25 for the drum and 80 for the shipping. You can fill the drum and they will come to your house and pick it up for an extra charge or you can drop it off at their location.

[tranke]

Hello, this is what my advisor told me:

"Hi Kenny,

We have two shipping agents who are willing to help students locate shipments on the island. they can be reached at (767) 235-5352 with respective extensions below.

Brian Ghitar: extension 6384
Wayne Shillingford: extension 6383

You should call one of these agents to let them know when you will have a shipment arriving. Give them the following info:
1. your name
2. carrier you used to ship
3. quantity of packages shipped
4. corresponding shipping numbers for each package.

They will pick up your package and bring it to campus free of charge. (gratuity is accepted).

Ship to the following address:

Student's name
Ross University School of Medicine
Box 266
Portsmouth Campus
Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies DM

I hope that this helps

-Kevin"

I guess this may be useful to know

[FRNC]

www.amerijet.com

to Amerijet by Friday, delivered to Dominica the next Tuesday.

Good method for > 80lbs.

Used them about 6 times with no problems.